February 2015 by Faith Wright and Deaven Wilson

Do you know how many small breed dogs are euthanized in your community shelter? In Austin, Texas in 2008, it was many more than would have been expected (roughly 500). Do you know that nearly ALL of them can be saved and although many are marked "aggressive”, they rarely are? The presenters share what Austin Pets Alive! does to evaluate these "lap sharks”, gain their trust in a very small amount of time and save their little lives. They will also discuss how to set them up for success in the shelter, in a foster home and in a forever home. This presentation was part of the American Pets Alive! 2015 No-Kill Conference.

About Faith Wright

Faith began volunteering at APA! in October 2009. Faith has served as a volunteer on many of the teams including adoption follow up, foster screening, foster placement lead, and foster coordinator. Faith also became the dog foster manager for over a year. In October 2011 Faith became the Operations Manager for APA! and continues in this capacity to date. Faith and her family have fostered over 200 animals since the beginning of her time with APA! Her favorites are the bottle baby puppies and kittens and the scared and bitey lap sharks.

About Deaven Wilson

Deaven Wilson started at APA in January 2012 as an offsite dog adoption counselor without any previous animal experience. Through her dirve to learn and improve she quickly became a leader. She was an adoption counselor for 7 months before her she took on the role of Lead TLAC counselor for 2 years. She is now the Assistant Dog Adoption Manager. Deaven is also a college student and now has "Bassador" fur-child of her own who keeps her very busy when she is not working at APA.